Warne gave his preferred ODI squad
Australia great Shane Warne has slammed Australia's ODI selection for three-match series against India which will commence after the Test series. Warne took to social media to express his opinion on the selection, calling it ridiculous.
The Australia selectors announced a 14-member squad for the ODI series against India, recalling Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle while leaving out explosive batsmen D'Arcy Short and Chris Lynn.
Here's what Warne had to say.
Warne felt that Short and Lynn deserved to be in the squads, with the former playing brilliantly in the ongoing Big Bash League.
“I cannot believe that D’Arcy Short has been left out of the side,” Warne told Fox Sports. “I don’t know what he’s done wrong. He can bowl and his batting at the top is dynamic. He’s in terrific form, and he and Finch make an awesome partnership at the top.
“When you’re picking this team you want to look at some players you are interested in, but you’ve also got to look at those players with the World Cup in mind and the conditions you’re going to have in England. Those conditions are going to be flat wickets that will probably spin a bit, so you need clever bowlers and you need some bowlers with pace. And they’re little grounds. So a mixture of power hitting and people that can bat time; you need that right combination.”
Aaron Finch, dropped from the test team for the series-finale against India in Sydney this week, was retained as ODI captain in a squad that also involves recalls for veteran bowlers Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle.
Off-spinner Lyon had missed the ODI series against South Africa at home earlier in the season, while Khawaja too is making the ODI squad after almost two years.
The trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, however, have been rested keeping the Test series against Sri Lanka in mind.
Warne, who has been critical of the Australian pace attack in the ongoing Test series, also denied holding any "personal vendetta" against the pacers.
"The bowlers when you look back at 2018 and all the numbers they have put in for an attack that is meant to be one of the best in the world, the numbers don't stack up," he said.
"That's facts, it is not a personal vendetta or anything like that. We have nothing against these guys, we are just dealing in facts.
Australia's 14-man squad: Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Jhye Richardson, Billy Stanlake, Jason Behrendorff, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa.
